Farming in Tasmania is like farming all over the world, there are some great examples that are really sustainable and there are some examples where more work needs to be done. Climate change has impacted agriculture already through the change in temperature. The climate has warmed, become drier and more variable. For some types of crops the seasons have shifted and come earlier, for example some crops might flower earlier and need to be harvested earlier. Even though the climate has warmed, the increased variability still means that more rain events, cold snaps and frost can cause problems. So climate change has certainly impacted agriculture. Other things like bushfire, which have increased because of climate change can also cause impacts on agriculture, directly affecting the ability to use agricultural land or other problems like smoke taint in the taste or grapes or milk.

Drought is certainly a big problem for agriculture and that is increased under climate change, so strategies for farmers to manage and minimise water use is increasingly important. Generally, the food produced in Tasmania is sustainable because we are smaller producers and focus on producing high quality. Eating locally is a great way to contribute to reducing emissions. Knowing where your food is from and how it was produced – preferably not using too much energy and too many inputs – is one of the best ways you can act on climate change. Supporting farmers to improve their practices (by voting for governments that put climate action high on the agenda) is another way to help, when you are old enough to vote. Governments can do a lot to raise awareness and fund sustainability in agriculture.

This is a thought-provoking question. I would say the time to save our homes is NOW.

Regarding how much time we have, scientists cannot say with confidence how much time we have left to save our Earth. Because different scenarios depend on factors like how much greenhouse gas we are emitting and continue to be emitting, how the natural world is responding to the changes in climate, what are we doing to control our emissions etc. But scientists say that if we don’t want to suffer from extreme weather events, we should limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2030. It is good thing that world leaders gathered in Paris, back in December 2015, and decided that all countries should aim to limit global warming well below 2°C and if possible 1.5°C - the Paris Agreement. Now, our job is to ask our countries' leaders what they are doing to keep their promise and achieve this goal and help them to achieve it by following their guidelines.

Regarding the melting of ice caps, it is important to keep in mind that it is one of the downsides of global warming but not the only contributor to global warming. The melting of ice caps can also increase the warming further by reducing Earth capacity to send back some of the energy coming from Sun into the space – scientists called this albedo effect (reflectivity of the Earth’s surface).

You would be happy to know that the scientists who studies sea level changes in past – paleo climate change, says that the Antarctic ice cap has survived much warmer times than current warming and it covers an area of about 14 million square kilometers, which is almost twice the size of Australia, and with an average thickness of about 2 kilometers. This is a huge amount of ice alone in Antarctica. So, it will take more than 81 years to completely melt all the ice caps in the world.

BUT the real concern is that ice caps in Antarctica and Greenland are melting at a much faster rate than they were in 1990s. And we are starting to see some extreme events, as you probably know, currently sea ice around Antarctica is not freezing as it should this winter. This kind of event is likely to happen if we don’t do anything now.

What an excellent and timely question: there has been a lot of discussion about nuclear power in the media recently. Also, Australia’s new plan to get to net zero emissions by 2050 does not rule out including nuclear power in this country’s future energy mix. So it’s an important time to be thinking and talking about nuclear.

Nuclear energy is used to generate electricity in 30 countries around the world, and provides about a tenth of the world’s energy needs. Nuclear power needs uranium, and the planet has uranium resources sufficient to fuel existing demand for more than 130 years. Nuclear power does not cause direct greenhouse gas emissions, which is good when we are thinking about climate change, however, the waste from nuclear power generation is problematic. It remains radioactive potentially for thousands of years and needs to be carefully stored under very controlled conditions in order not to pose a danger to humans and the environment.

Could Australia develop nuclear power? Currently the answer is no. That’s because Australian law currently prohibits the approval and construction of nuclear power plants and the enrichment of uranium needed for nuclear power. Could Australia develop nuclear power in the future as part of an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Australia does have a lot of uranium, in fact, it supplies about one third of the total world demand for uranium.

The problem with nuclear for Australia as part of the effort to reduce emissions this decade is quite simple: it’s too slow, and too expensive.

How is it too slow? The timeframe to build a nuclear power station is at least 10-12 years. If we started to build a nuclear power capacity in Australia right now (and remember, the law  currently prohibits it) it would not be operational until the early-mid 2030s. Science tells us we need to cut emissions right now, this decade.

How is it too expensive? Despite our domestic reserves of uranium, nuclear is by far the most costly energy for Australia to generate, as you can see from the illustration below.

If we were to build nuclear power capacity in Australia, starting today, the cost of renewables like wind and solar would be much less even than it is today by the time we were able to generate any nuclear power.

So we might pursue building nuclear power in Australia if we had no other alternatives, but we are lucky to have some of the most plentiful solar, wind and particularly offshore wind resources in the world. So renewables like wind and solar, backed up by hydroelectricity, batteries, and new fuels like green hydrogen, will be a faster and cheaper way to decarbonise than turning to nuclear power.

Well, the short answer to your question is yes - we do need to change our transport habits. Of the total global CO2 emissions the transportation sector contributes to about 14%. In countries like Australia, with lots more car usage that percentage is even higher. Transport is Australia's third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions (96MtCO2e per year, 17% of total emissions). Cars currently represent the largest source of transport emissions in Australia, and are responsible for roughly half of all transport emissions. Furthermore, car emissions in Australia have grown by 25% since 1990.

But cars are still important for some people to be able to access the community and to get to places. So other options we have are to look at using more fuel efficient cars (some old or big cars use much more fuel) or look at electric vehicles. But, the more walking, cycling, and public transport the better!

At the moment there is no specific “phobia” of climate change that I know of. However many people do suffer from common mental health issues such as anxiety or mental distress and climate change may be the focus of what causes their symptoms. You can find out more about anxiety here. In terms of specific names for feelings related to climate change, an Australian philosopher called Glen Albrecht wrote a book called “Earth Emotions” which provided names for a range of feelings about our relationship to the planet and what’s happening to it. One of his most famous terms is:

Solastagia: A feeling of distress or homesickness for a place affected or destroyed by environmental change

You may have also heard of terms such as eco-anxiety, eco-distress and ecological grief. These are not currently considered mental disorders, but do describe well what a lot of people feel when they think about environmental issues. Similarly, “anticipatory trauma” or “anticipatory grief” refers to feelings of distress about events that may happen in the future, and could be related to climate events.

Whilst some people find these new terms to be helpful, other people in climate-affected communities may not relate to them, or find clinical or uncommon/fancy language to be alienating. Therefore just learning to talk about stress and anxiety in general, and express how we are feeling in whatever language is comfortable is a great place to start.

There are many actions being undertaken to stop or minimise the impacts of climate change. These actions involve reducing the amount of greenhouse gases (gases that trap heat) in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are released by human activities such as producing energy from fossil fuels, refrigeration or agriculture. 

The good news is that actions to mitigate climate change are happening at all levels, from individuals and communities to local, regional and national governments. Any action that reduces the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will help. This could be anything from thinking before buying and buying only what you need (instead of what you want), riding a bike to school/work instead of driving a car, having a community garden that includes composting, switching to renewable energy sources (like solar or wind) or managing forest in a way that allows for long-term capture (also known as sequestration) of carbon dioxide, one of the most common greenhouse gases. 

Many organisations and governments have now committed to climate action and have climate change plans publicly available detailing how they are contributing to preventing the climate crisis. You can influence what business do with your purchasing choices by being aware of what brands are more environmentally responsible, or you can write a letter your local, state or national government asking what they are doing to support climate action. 

Many people are worried and frustrated about climate change and want to know what they can do to help. Studying the impacts of climate change and rising ocean temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef over the last decade has certainly convinced me that this is the most serious issue of our time. 

We hear quite a lot about what we can do in our own lives to reduce the carbon emissions into the atmosphere that drive climate change. Anything that lowers energy consumption helps reduce the need to burn fossil fuels and gives us time to transition to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. For example, driving less by walking, riding or taking public transport where we can. Even what you eat makes a big difference (so maybe limit ‘BBQ Meatlovers’ to special occasions). We can go a step further and help remove carbon from the atmosphere by growing trees. The reason that Tasmania is currently removing more carbon from the atmosphere than it puts in (i.e. better than net zero emissions) is the natural regrowth of Tasmanian forests. 

One thing that I also like to do is avoid unnecessary generation of methane, which is much more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas and responsible for more than 30% of the global temperature increase. If you dispose of food and garden waste with your garbage, it will be buried and breakdown without oxygen (anaerobic process) to produce methane that eventually escapes into the atmosphere. However, if you put organic waste into your home compost or council compost bin, microbes can access oxygen when breaking it down (aerobic process) thereby producing very little methane as well as compost that will help grow new carbon absorbing plants. 

Finally, we should all try to stay informed and express our views on what actions need to be taken. Students currently in college will be the ones asked to deal with the largest consequences of climate change. You’re entitled to have a say.